Annual Report 2011

2011 | HIGHLIGHTS

march 25, 2011 Atta Kim’s dramatic installation Monologue of Ice, a 5 ½-foot-tall, 1,300-pound ice sculpture of a seated buddha, slowly melted into a pool of water. As the ice melted, visitors were encouraged to touch the sculpture and to collect the water to nurture a plant. The ice sculpture remained on view until completely melted, a process that took several days. The presentation was an extension of Grain of Emptiness: Buddhism-Inspired Contemporary Art, on view through April 11, 2011.

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Dear Friends and Supporters of the Rubin Museum of Art, I am pleased to share with you a brief summary of the museum’s 2011 fiscal year, including an acknowledgment of the generous financial support received from many individuals, foundations, corporations, and government agencies and our audited financial statement.

The exhibitions, programs, and educational resources that were the highlight of the museum’s activities in 2011 are described on our website, rmanyc.org, where you can also find detailed reports on the museum’s First Five Years (2004–2009) and activities in 2010.

As the Rubin Museum approaches a significant milestone, our tenth anniversary in 2014, 2011 represents a year of assessment and planning for the future. At the end of 2011 the museum’s founders, Shelley and Donald Rubin, announced an additional major gift of $25 million to the museum over the next five years.

At the same time Donald Rubin announced his decision to step down as the museum’s chief executive.

I was honored by the board’s request that I become the museum’s executive director. I am supported by an executive staff team of six senior professionals responsible for the museum’s curatorial, education, external affairs, finance, operations/services, and programming activities.

Our ability to articulate the museum’s mission and core values will be key to the museum’s future success and stability, and working with our trustees and the entire staff, we have begun that process. It will guide us in planning our future exhibitions, programs, and services and in the ways we serve our visitors both on-site and online.

We are grateful to our loyal and growing group of generous members, donors, friends, and lenders of art. In so many different and important ways you have helped the museum to exceed the vision of its founders. With a plan in place to expand the museum’s role in bringing the art and culture of Himalayan Asia, and the ideas and connections they spark, to the attention of a wider public, we will have much to celebrate in 2014.

Thank you for partnering with us to reach our goals in the coming years.

Patrick Sears Executive Director

June 1, 2012

2011 EXHIBITIONS August 6, 2010–January 10, 2011

November 5, 2010–April 11, 2011

July 1–October 24, 2011

November 18, 2011–April 9, 2012

A British Life in a Mountain Kingdom: Early Photographs of Sikkim And Bhutan

Grain of Emptiness: BuddhismInspired Contemporary Art

Pilgrimage and Faith: Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam

Modernist Art from India: The Body Unbound

A British Life in a Mountain Kingdom was the first exhibition of the latenineteenth- and early-twentiethcentury photographs of John Claude White, a British government officer who was stationed throughout the Himalayas during the British Raj. White traveled extensively during his residence in Sikkim, documenting his journeys with an enormous camera. The resulting collection of large-format prints represents the mountains he loved and the people whom he considered companions and friends.

September 3, 2010–May 23, 2011

The Nepalese Legacy in Tibetan Painting The Nepalese Legacy in Tibetan Painting traced the development, patronage, and distinctive features of Tibet’s Beri painting style, one of the country’s most influential artistic styles for four centuries. The style represented a shift in artistic inspiration from India to Nepal with the fall of key Indian monasteries in 1203.

October 6, 2010–March 7, 2011

Embodying the Holy: Icons in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Tibetan Buddhism Embodying the Holy explored the basic similarities and differences between sacral representations in the Eastern Orthodox Christian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

Grain of Emptiness featured five contemporary artists—Sanford Biggers, Theaster Gates, Atta Kim, Wolfgang Laib, and Charmion von Wiegand—whose works are inspired

by Eastern religious beliefs.

January 28–July 4, 2011

Body Language: The Yogis of India and Nepal Body Language: The Yogis of India and Nepal presented Thomas Kelly’s striking photographs of sadhus, extraordinary-looking wandering ascetics who renounce worldly life and devote their lives entirely to religious practice and the quest for spiritual enlightenment.

April 8–August 22, 2011

Patterns of Life: The Art of Tibetan Carpets For centuries Tibetans have used carpets for decorative and functional purposes, drawing upon geometric patterns, auspicious symbols, and natural and mythical imagery for their design. Patterns of Life showcased the stylistic variety and uses of Tibetan carpets alongside fine art and everyday objects that echo their imagery and illuminate their utility.

May 13–September 19, 2011

Quentin Roosevelt’s China: Ancestral Realms of the Naxi Quentin Roosevelt’s China presented the religious art of the Naxi—one of China’s fifty-five ethnic minority nationalities—the majority of which was acquired in the early to mid-twentieth century by Quentin Roosevelt, grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, and the botanist-explorer Joseph Rock.

The role of pilgrimage in three of the world’s largest religious traditions—Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam—was explored in Pilgrimage and Faith, which included nearly seventy works of art and artifacts dating from the ninth century to the present.

July 22–November 13, 2011

Human Currents: The World’s Largest Pilgrimage as Interpreted by Hannes Schmid In Human Currents Hannes Schmid’s large color photographs and aerial-angled movie captured the claustrophobic crowds, myriad colors, and energy of the Maha Kumbh Mela festival, the greatest of Hindu pilgrimages and the largest recorded gathering of human beings on earth.

September 16, 2011–January 30, 2012

Once Upon Many Times: Legends and Myths in Himalayan Art Once Upon Many Times explored the art of Himalayan storytelling and the many themes and forms of visual and oral narratives.

October 21, 2011–March 5, 2012

Mirror of the Buddha: Early Portraits from Tibet In early Tibetan painted portraits, founding masters of important Buddhist schools were often represented as holy personages, their earthly form visually transformed into the serene countenance of a buddha. Mirror of the Buddha presented exquisite examples of these portraits, painted primarily in the eastern Indian-inspired Sharri style.

The Body Unbound marked the first exhibition in the three-part Modernist Art from India series that highlighted predominant themes and extraordinary examples of modernist art from post-Independence India.

December 9, 2011–June 11, 2012

Hero, Villain, Yeti: Tibet in Comics Comic book storylines have drawn on Tibet’s cultural and religious traditions for more than sixty years, mixing reality with myths and longheld stereotypes. Featuring more than fifty comic books from around the world, Hero, Villain, Yeti shed light on global perceptions of Tibet as reflected in and informed by these diverse narratives.

2011 PUBLICATIONS The Nepalese Legacy in Tibetan Painting

Patterns of Life: The Art of Tibetan Carpets

David P. Jackson with a contribution from Martin Brauen

Thomas Cole with an introduction by Diana K. Myers

In this second publication and related exhibition noted scholar David Jackson identifies the full extent of the Beri style developed by Newar artists in Nepal and shows the chronological development, religious patronage, and geographic scope that tie together the development of the style.

With exceptional examples of saddle rugs, sleeping rugs, pile pillows, cushion covers, and door rugs, Patterns of Life explores the stylistic variety and uses of Tibetan carpets in the everyday life of the Tibetan people.

Mirror of the Buddha: Early Portraits from Tibet David P. Jackson with contributions from Jan van Alphen and Christian Luczanits In this third volume on Tibetan painting David Jackson with Christian Luczanits investigates painted portraits of early Tibetan teachers.

Images of these eminent personages embodied Buddhist ideals in often idealized human form.

Grain of Emptiness: BuddhismInspired Contemporary Art Martin Brauen and Mary Jane Jacob Since the emergence of the conceptual art movement in the 1960s, Western artists have taken up the Buddhist precepts of emptiness and impermanence and examined the ways that they intersect in our daily lives. Grain of Emptiness features five inheritors of that mid-century tradition.

Funeral Scroll (detail); Northwestern Yunnan Province, China; Ink and paint on fabric; 40 ft. x 11 ½ in. (1,219 x 29.2 cm); Harvard-Yenching Library, Harvard University; FHCL:3322112 This type of scroll is at the core of the funeral ritual of the Naxi people. The scroll shown here was one of many artifacts presented in the exhibition Quentin Roosevelt’s China: Ancestral Realms of the Naxi. In conjunction with the exhibition, curated by guest curators Christine Mathieu and Cindy Ho, the museum published a 200-page book and hosted a conference featuring scholars from the United States, China, and Europe.

Quentin Roosevelt’s China: The Ancestral Realm of the Naxi Christine Mathieu and Cindy Ho, Editors, with contributions from Martin Brauen, Guo Dalie, He Lemin, He Zhonghua, Cindy Ho, Lamu Gatusa, Christine Mathieu, Alexis Michaud, Donald Rubin, and Yang Fuquan This book offers a comprehensive introduction to centuries of Naxi culture, art, and religion and presents outstanding objects from public and private collections, including those collected by Quentin Roosevelt in China.

April 31 and May 1, 2011 In collaboration with Adhikaar and the Nepali immigrant community, writer/director Aya Ogawa and designer Jeanette Yew created Yatra Samudra Samma: Journey to the Ocean, presented as part of the Foundry Theatre’s festival “NYC... Just Like I Pictured It,” a performance series of new works that re-imagine the city.

In the scene shown here, domestic workers break through the daily grind and into a spontaneous dance, inspired by a favorite Nepali pop song.

INDIVIDUAL AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT $250,000 +

The Leon Levy Foundation

Martin and MaryAnn Baumrind

Miles Morgan

Omar S. Amanat

Merrill Lynch

Walter and Carol Beebe

Harold and Ruth Newman

Shelley and Donald Rubin

National Endowment for the Arts

Charles C. Bergman

Jane Olson

Barbara Bowman

PECO Foundation

Loren Busby

Susan B. Plum

Capital Group Private Client Services

Tania Pouschine

Ann Daniel

Resnicow Schroeder Associates, Inc.

The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation

$100,000–$249,000 Carlo and Micól Schejola Foundation Fred Eychaner Rizvi | Traverse

$50,000–$99,999 Henry Luce Foundation JPMorgan Chase New York City Department of Cultural Affairs New York State Council on the Arts

Peck Stacpoole Foundation The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation Polo Ralph Lauren Adarsh and Charu Sarma Linda Schejola Donna and Marvin Schwartz Manoj and Rita Singh Constance and Stephen Spahn T2 Partners LLC Vadehra Art Gallery Jeffrey S. Wiesenfeld Monica Winsor and Joshua Mailman

$5,000–$9,999

Theodore and Themis Dimon Diversified Systems Peggy Dulany Burtt Ehrlich First Republic Bank Elise Frick Umesh and Sunanda Gaur Gertler & Wente Architects Goldman Sachs & Co. Peggy and Ronnie Gross

Nisha and Mohit Sabharwal Talaiya Ahmed Safdar and Hassan Safdar Srinath and Renu Samudrala Arvind Sanger Sax Macy Fromm & Co., PC Dr. and Mrs. Eric Schoenberg Daniel I. Schwartz and Csongor Kis

Hodgson Russ LLP

Martin Segal Arvind Shah

Asian Cultural Council

Achelis Foundation

Edward and Sharon Bergman

Akhoury Foundation

Peter Hutchings and Martha Wolfgang

Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Baylis

Consolidated Edison Company of New York

Anna Ivara

The MCJ Amelior Foundation

Kimberly and Pierre Ferrari

MetLife Foundation

General Atlantic LLC

Basha Frost Rubin

Healey Family Foundation

Jeffrey and Suzanne Walker

Tinku and Ajit Jain

J&M Realty Dr. Alice S. Kandell Andrea Kerzner Marlene Kraus Mary and Richard Lanier

$10,000–$24,999

Sreedhar Menon

Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership

Stanley and Marion Bergman

NGN Capital LLC

Yakub Mathew

Samuel Botero and Emery von Sztankoczy

Pro Helvetia Rasika and Girish Reddy

Dr. Francesca Kress and Jack Mayberry

Mary Jane Brock

Richmond Global LLC

Michael McCormick

The City University of New York

Eileen Caulfield Schwab

Deborah MacFarlane

Dedalus Foundation, Inc.

The Sikh Art and Film Foundation

Geoffrey and Sophie Menin

The Dwight School

Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces

Ronay and Richard L. Menschel

Agnes Gund

The Rubin-Ladd Foundation

Christopher Han

$25,000–$49,999

Arnold and Michelle Lieberman

Jonathan Rose

Dr. and Mrs. M. Woodson Merrell

Eva and Yoel Haller

$1,000–$4,999

Michael Tuch Foundation

Hamlin Capital Management

Stan Altman / Baruch College

Robert and Carola Jain

Ozi Amanat and Asema Ahmed

Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation

Karen Thomas Associates

Walter Arader

Pat Mitchell

Harvey Sigelbaum SilverLining Interiors Rajesh and Pamela Singh Barbara Slifka Mrs. Riva Ritvo Slifka Kathleen and Harvey Sloane David Stone Bente Strong Nicholas and Joanna Vergoth Cecile Wasserman Rebecca White Beverley Zabriskie

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP Donors Circle $10,000

Mr. Donald Gordon

Ms. Ilse G. Traulsen

Ms. Mimi Klein

Ms. Olivia Hansen

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Travis

Ms. Nancy Lasselle

Ms. Barbara T. Bowman

Lisina M. Hoch

Mr. George Tsandikos

Ms. Grace Lyu-Volckhausen

Ellen and Howard C. Katz

Mr. Franklin Horowitz

Mr. David Upson

Ms. Constance Maneaty

Mr. Stephen Rubin

Mr. Scott C. Hoyt

Ms. Bryony Weiss

Mr. Michael Marino

Eileen Caulfield Schwab

Mr. Ajit G. Hutheesing

Mr. Jeffrey Wiesenfeld

Ms. Lisa McDonald

Ms. Anna Ivara

Martha Wolfgang and Peter Hutchings

Mr. George Melissinos

Collectors Circle $5,000 Chris and Francesca Beale Private Foundation

Dr. Alice S. Kandell Mr. Raman Kapur and Mrs. Vinita Kapur

Beverley Zabriskie

Mr. Bart Mendel Mr. Peter Miscovich Mr. Richard Nechamkin

Ms. Alix Laager and Mr. Rudolf Laager

Benefactor $500

Mary and Richard Lanier

Mr. and Mrs. Pavlos Alexandrakis

Ms. Lynn Levenberg

Mr. Tobey Baldinger

Mr. Stuart Leyton and Ms. Linda Wambaugh

Mr. Martin Baumrind

Mr. and Mrs. Akhoury

Mr. Arnold Lieberman and Mrs. Michelle Lieberman

Mr. Kraige Block

Mr. James L. Nelson

Saroj and Sreedhar Menon

Ms. Valerie Brackett and Mr. Nikos Monoyios

Dr. Michelle E. Montemayor

Mr. Tom Campbell

Chairman’s Circle $1,000

Ruth and Harold Newman Mr. Jay Newman

Mr. Mark Anthony Caterini and Ms. Kate Perotti

Luis and Judith Alvarez

Mr. Gerry Ohrstrom

Mr. Fred Cordero

Jalsa Urubshurow

Ms. Amy Bauman and Mr. Glenn Hinson

Ms. Paula A. Perlis

Mr. Errol Dawkins and Ms. Mary Siener

Mr. William Vander Heuvel

Nasser Ahari in Memorium Barbara and Harvey Sigelbaum Stephen and Constance Spahn

Sponsor $2,500

Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Baylis Mr. Steven Bosses Sam Botero and Emery von Sztankoczy

Mr. Devashisu Krishan

Mr. Horatio Potter Evie and Marvin Rich Dennis M. Rief Mr. David Ritter

Charles C. Bergman

Mr. Rajeev Pandya Mr. Rob Patzig and Mrs. Eileen Patzig Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Pritzker Mr. Anupam Puri and Mrs. Rajika Puri Joumana Rizk and Kai Han Mr. J. Paul Rodriguez Mr. Jonathan P. Rosen and Mrs. Jeanette D. Rosen Mr. Richard Roth and Mrs. Mary Roth Edith and Martin E. Segal Ms. Mary Slusser

Mr. Curtis Doty

Ms. Susy Wadsworth and Mr. John Wadsworth

Mr. Michael Doyle

Ms. Joan Waricha

Mr. Todd Eisenbud

Mr. Stephen Watson

Amanda Rubin

Mr. John Eskenazi and Mrs. Fausta Eskenazi

Ambassador and Mrs. Leon J. Weil

Mrs. Rosanne Braun Ms. Kim R. Brizzolara

Basha Frost Rubin

Mr. Riley Etheridge

Loren Busby

Laurel Rubin

Mr. Raymond Foye

and more than 4,000 additional members

Ms. Nancy Calomiris

Mr. and Mrs. Alfred and Ann Ruesch

Mr. Maxwell Gimblett

Mrs. Barbara Dalio and Mr. Raymond Dalio

Mr. Andrew Sabin

Mr. Zachary Goldstein

Daniel Schwartz

Ms. Anne E. Delaney

Ms. Polly Guth

Mr. Saurin Shah

Rohit and Katharine Desai

Ms. Mary Louise Guttmann

Mr. Ed Duncan

Mrs. Preety Sengupta and Mr. Chandan Sengupta

Mr. Thomas B. Harris and Ms. Doreen M. Kelly

Mr. Theo Fiorillo

Vinay and Katherine Singh

John and Berthe Ford

Ms. Sarah Solomon

Mr. Alvin J. Huss and Mrs. Ruth S. Huss

Elise Frick

Ms. Jacqui Taylor

Mr. Pramod Jain and Dr. Neeta Jain

Karen Thomas Gillis

Andrea and Richard Tomasetti

Ms. Young-hee Kim-Wait

April 30, 2011 The museum and the PEN World Voices Festival experimented with ideas about how language is disseminated and transmitted from one person to another through a “karma chain” on New York’s High Line. Participants stood single file stretching over three city blocks. A Tibetan lama, Pema Wangdak, uttered a sutra that was passed down the line, as in a game of telephone. At the end of the chain, PEN president Salman Rushdie shared the original along with the interpreted message via proclamation and Twitter.

CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP Corporate Benefactor $25,000 Credit Suisse General Atlantic LLC

Corporate Patron $15,000 Merrill Lynch Tailwind Capital

Corporate Friend $10,000 Alliance Bernstein Ashurst LLP Bloomberg Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership

Corporate Donor $5,000 Abacus Wealth Partners Atlantic Records Barclays Lake Isle Press The McGraw-Hill Companies PwC Sotheby’s

VOLUNTEER SUPPORT Shirley Adams

Diana Frank

Linda Koralek

Jeffrey Ross

Patricia Artenberg

Evelyn Friedman

Phil Kovavitch

Beverly Ruiz

Asli Ataov

Chelsea Frosini

Judy Kriendler

Rudy Ruiz

Annette Bamundo

B.J. Atwood Fukuda

Susanne Lamoureux

Venkatesh Sandilya

Liz Baring

Joanna Gangemi

Alexis LaPorte

Barbara Schachter

Kristina Beauchamp

Kate Gaudio

Neil Liebman

Martin Schachter

Pamela Berns

Tseten Gelek

James Liu

Brigitte Seidel

Patricia Bouley

Rajasekhar Ghanta

Patricia Llosa

Marilyn Selig

Trudy Brady

Irving Goldman

Lama Makarem

Nadiah Shazana

Leslie Browning

Muriel Goldman

Minette Mangahas

Tess Sholom

Dorothy Cancellieri

Joyce Goldzman

Michael Marsman

Demetrius Siatos

Tara Canty

Karen Gorstayn

Wendy Maurice

Cindy Sibilsky

Christine Carey

Nina Goss

Florence McDermott

Ruth Siegel

Hirondelle Chatelard

Paul Groncki

Danielle McFall

Anu Sieunarine

A Chou Tuo (Nudup)-Chieh (Dorjee)

Madelon Hambro

Dianne McKenna

Nicole Smith

Yoon Chung

Cathy Han

Cecily McKeown

Christina Soriano

Brian Coburn

Ed Hankin

Erika Mieles

Arlene Spiller

Annette Cohen

Sherry Harris

Kamla Motihar

Marcia Tammi

Arlene Curinga

Bonnie Harwayne

Manashi Mukherjee

Helen Tepper

Arlene D’Abreo

Roberta Hickey

Denise Murphy

Jean Thies

Esther Daiell

Tomika Hishiyama

Michael Tyson Murphy

Laurie Tomasino

Alana Dapena

Caroline Hong

Carol Novack

Tenzing Tsakor Baro

Steven Dean

Andrea Hunt

Natalie Oretsky-Cohen

Tenzin Tseten

Antony Declerq

Chuck Hyman

Khenrab Palden

Erin van Schendel

Marylou Dodge

Nancy Jackson

Vanessa Palmer

Anthony Verga

Elena Dubus

Sarah Jimenez

Annie Pichard

Nicole Von Klencke

Jennifer Eberhardt

Vicky Karkazis

Khristine Queja

Linda White

Barb Ehlers

Fumiko Kasama

Mallika Rao

Tala Wunderler-Selby

Harriet Feldman

Suzannah Kellner

Nitin Ron

Dawa Yangzom

Ramiro Fernandez

Nonzam Khartenbarro

Paul Roossin

Runxiao Zhu

Amber Filippi

Tasha Kimmet

Daniel Rosemarin

Lynn Zinn

March 20, 2011 The museum’s Family Day celebrated Himalayan New Year’s traditions as part of CelebrASIA, a city-wide collaboration among Asian museums. The event featured art-making activities such as torma butter sculpture making, a demonstration by a master sand mandala maker, songs, interactive story tours, and the creation of the pictured collaborative mandala of buttons, beads, and other recycled objects on the floor of the theater with artists from Urban River Arts.

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

at December 31, 2011

ASSETS

LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS

Current Assets

Current Liabilities

Cash and cash equivalents Unconditional promises to give Restricted for future periods and programs

$592,083 98,447 19,582,679

Accounts receivable

189,861

Inventory

760,839

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

225,946

Investments in marketable securities Total Current Assets

Property & Equipment

Total Assets

52,398,161 $74,848,016

$58,944,910

$132,792,926

Accounts payable and accrued expenses

$1,452,599

Tenant security deposits

76,954

Deferred membership and other income

58,275

Total Current Liabilities

$1,677,828

Net Assets Unrestricted Board-designated funds

$49,263,846

Other unrestricted

61,645,567

Temporarily restricted

20,205,685

Total Net Assets

Total Liabilities and Net Assets

$132,792,926

$132,792,926

STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES

as of December 31, 2011

REVENUES AND OTHER SUPPORT

EXPENSES

Public Support

Program Services

Contributions and donations Grants and sponsorships Special event revenue Less: direct expenses Membership dues Total Public Support

$24,514,643 1,073,275 772,230 (165,119) 452,808 $26,647,837

Collections and exhibitions Publications

$4,900,410 229,104

Education

1,803,467

Public programs

1,012,657

Shop Public relations and marketing Total Program Services

898,802 1,526,835 $10,371,275

Revenues from Programs and Activities Museum admission fees

$261,522

Supporting Services

Program fees

354,745

Management and general

Facility rental income

333,387

Development

Exhibition fees

61,215

Merchandise and catalog sales

688,680

Other revenue

137,823

Total Revenue from Programs and Activities

Rental Income Net Investment Income

TOTAL REVENUES, GAINS, AND OTHER SUPPORT

$1,837,372

$2,683,199 1,473,267

Total Supporting Services

$1,837,372

Real estate operations

$415,758

Collections items purchased not capitalized

$632,928

$895,915 $20,161

$29,360,963

TOTAL EXPENSES

$15,576,427

Change in Net Assets

$13,784,536

This information has been excerpted from annual audited financial statements, full copies of which are available upon request.

on the cover Detail of a flying monk from a portrait of Padmasambhava; central Tibet, possibly Bhutan; 17th century; pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Art, gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin; C2006.66.4 (HAR 12)

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